Liberal Judaism

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The book of Numbers, which we begin reading this coming Shabbat, takes it name from the opening chapters in which the Israelites are – quite literally – numbered by Moses and Aaron as they take a head count of the tribes of Israel. This week’s portion records the names of the tribal heads, the number of fighting men over the age of twenty, the layout of the Israelite camp and, finally, the details and specific priestly responsibilities of the different Levite clans.

Counting people is traditionally regarded in Judaism as bringing bad luck or a curse. This appears to be based on events in the second book of Samuel, when David orders a census of the number of troops at his disposal throughout his kingdom. A divinely ordained plague sweeping through his kingdom seems to be a direct consequence of this action, since which time, counting people has been regarded as a hazardous activity in Jewish circles.

Nevertheless, modern Judaism does seem to be rather obsessed with numbers. Synagogues need to know how many members they have, the Anglo-Jewish community is forever calculating its numerical size and bemoaning its falling numbers or the small percentage of its constituents who participate in its activities. The success of events is invariably measured not by the quality of their content but by the numbers of people who attend them.

Liberal Judaism is a small movement, but one whose message needs clearly to be heard. When it comes to the numbers game of Anglo-Jewry, only a small percentage of British Jews belong to our synagogues. But, like the ancient prophets of our faith, Liberal Jews are not afraid to speak out as a minority, even sometimes perhaps as a voice in the wilderness. Our role in the world of Judaism was perfectly summed up by the late Rabbi John Rayner in 2002 on the centenary of the establishment of a Liberal Jewish movement in this country:

‘Integrity was perhaps the outstanding quality of our founders. They imprinted it deeply on our Movement and we have tried… to maintain it ever since. As Rabbi Israel Mattuck said… “To sacrifice principle to conformity would jeopardise our cause.” The temptation to do so is ever present: to follow fashion, to court popularity, to play to the gallery, to swallow scruples for political gain. All these temptations we must resist, fully knowing and accepting the cost. For integrity is not cheap… It may entail accepting a lower rate of numerical growth than we should have wished. It may mean remaining a minority

for a long time to come, or even for ever. That too is a price we must be willing to pay, for it is better to be few and right than to be many and wrong.’

You can hear Rabbi Pete Tobias with Aled Jones on BBC Radio 2’s ‘Good Morning Sunday on Sunday 20th May from 7.40 – 8.00 am.

His new book ‘Liberal Judaism: A Judaism for the Twenty-First Century’ is due to be published next week.

Parashat B'Midbar (Numbers: 1:1 - 3:51)

by Rabbi Pete Tobias of The Liberal Synagogue Elstree